Physical
by robertwnielsen
Summary: A requested song on the radio has the potential to tear Hawke and Caitlin's friendship apart...or, take it to places neither one had ever imagined.


_Physical_

Disclaimer – Don't own 'em. Wish to heck I did, 'cause I'd still play with them.

A/N – This is a pure fluff piece, suggested by one of my regular readers, and not infringing on any of my previous works. For purposes of continuity, Hawke and Cait are, once again, not together at the beginning of the piece, which for continuity purposes takes place sometime after the S2 episode Natural Born, which I also reference. I hope somebody enjoys it. – robertwnielsen

Stringfellow Hawke thought he'd seen, and heard, everything from his young co-worker and, he had to admit, best friend, Caitlin O'Shannessy. _She's been bugging me about becoming more than 'just friends' for ages now._ _But I can't think about that. Not with..._ Hawke stopped himself before he thought too hard about the curse—the curse that he felt he had that anyone he loved, or might love, would die. _And, even though she doesn't know it, I care about her. I care too much about her to let anything happen to her._

Caitlin, meanwhile, was busy working on some files in the office—or at least, that's what she told Hawke she was doing when she went in there twenty minutes ago. Her other mission had already been accomplished—a call to the local radio station's request and dedication hour. Fortunately for her, Dom was out sick today, so it was just the two of them, alone, in the hangar. Caitlin still recalled flying up to Hawke's cabin, the same way Dom did every morning, and then flying back having the man of her dreams sitting in the co-pilot's chair. It was almost more than she could take, and she was relieved when they finally touched down back at the airfield. _I sure hope this works,_ Caitlin thought anxiously as she hung up the phone.

"Cait? Caitlin! You done in there yet?" Hawke demanded, banging on the door. Caitlin walked out a few seconds later, an embarrassed smile on her face.

"Sorry, Hawke," Caitlin said, her cheeks turning a slight pink. "Lost track of time."

"Aha, right. A likely story," Hawke said, but his easy grin belied his true emotions. "You get things straightened up in the files okay?"

"Did the best I could, Hawke," Cait said with a shake of her head. "How Dom finds anything in that disaster area, I'll never know." String laughed as he visualized the filing 'system' that Dominic used, which usually involved throwing papers into the filing cabinet, not putting them in any specific folders or order.

"Yeah, Dom's system is...unique, that's for sure," Hawke said, shaking his head.

Just then, Caitlin reached over and snapped on the radio laying on the desk. "Thought we could use a little music, Hawke," she said, smiling. Hawke simply shrugged, nodded, and went about his business adjusting a camera mount.

Just then, the DJ came on the radio, and Caitlin held her breath. _Hope it's my song,_ she thought, suddenly anxious. "Here's a request we got a little while ago; ah, this is a good one...Olivia Newton-John's _Physical."_

"Cait? Did you do that?" Hawke demanded. He'd seen Caitlin's reaction when she heard the DJ say the next song would be a request.

Caitlin turned around and gave Hawke her best_ 'who, me?' _stare. She hoped that Hawke would get the message of the music. _At least, that he gets the message without wanting to kill me. Of course, I can hold my own if it comes to that. Well, here goes nothing._ Her expression became decidedly sultry as Olivia's voice came through the speaker, and Caitlin grabbed a wrench to use as a microphone, and began to sing along.

_I'm saying all the things that I know you'll like_

_Making good conversation  
>I gotta handle you just right<br>You know what I mean  
>I took you to an intimate restaurant<br>Then to a suggestive movie  
>There's nothing left to talk about<br>Unless it's horizontally _

_Let's get physical, physical  
>I wanna get physical<br>Let's get into physical  
>Let me hear your body talk, your body talk<br>Let me hear your body talk_

_Caitlin, what the heck are you up to now? Well, at least she answered my question, even though she tried to deny it._ Hawke was watching her as she sang and moved with the music, and despite his best intentions, he was becoming more and more interested. _I will say this, she's got good moves. Her voice isn't too bad, either, and, I have to admit, she's very pretty._ Hawke listened to the chorus and suddenly began to think he understood what the lyrics meant, and why Cait had requested the song, especially after the line, _'there's nothing left to talk about, unless it's horizontally_.'

_Whoa! SERIOUS red light here, Caitlin!_ Hawke's expression turned from confusion to astonishment as the second verse began.

_I've been patient, I've been good  
>Tried to keep my hands on the table<br>It's gettin' hard this holdin' back  
>If you know what I mean<em>

_I'm sure you'll understand my point of view  
>We know each other mentally<br>You gotta know that you're bringin' out  
>The animal in me<em>

Hawke knew what Caitlin wanted, or at least he thought he did. But he just wasn't too sure how he'd break it to her that he wasn't going to be the one who gave it to her. _I get the feeling that, she wants, __**me. **__And, I'd be lying if I said that Cait wasn't a desirable woman. And, Cait would probably kick my ass if I __**did**__ say it. _And those last words made him stop. _Yeah, she probably would kick my ass; and, she probably could, too. _He knew what had happened a few weeks earlier, when Caitlin had gone to investigate a charter air service much like Santini Air, but which was being used as the front for a gang of criminals. She'd been discovered, and fought off three men before finally being knocked unconscious and taken prisoner.

_But, three against one. And from what I understand, it wasn't any of the three initial guys who finally knocked her out. Somebody else came in and did it. She actually held her own for a while, considering; and I already know what kind of pilot she is. _Hawke remembered when Dom's crazy niece, Holly Matthews, had convinced Cait to fly her up to his cabin—and then Holly pulled a gun on Cait, and forced her to fly through an Air Force security zone. During a dogfight, Cait had knocked Holly out and lost control of the chopper, but managed to pull it out of the flat spin it had entered, before it hit the ocean. Hawke had to admit, that took some skill. Not to mention the way she'd evaded several Sidewinder missiles during the Anderson affair—_Yeah, Airwolf helped some; but she got away from some of Villers' rockets all by herself._ He also knew that what he was thinking would probably earn him a fat lip, or worse, but he couldn't deny how desirable Caitlin was, or the physical reaction she was provoking in him.

By the time Caitlin sang the line "_The animal in me,"_ Hawke knew that there was something more than the song on her mind. _And that something's gonna get me into a whole lot of trouble, no matter what I do, _Hawke thought angrily. If he acted on the lyrics of the song, and what he thought Caitlin meant by requesting it, he'd probably wind up with, at the very least, a fat lip. _Along with a sexual assault charge. Or at the very least, sexual harassment. Either way, I'd be in __**big **__trouble._ On the other hand, Hawke worried that if he didn't do something, his friendship with Caitlin could wind up irreparably damaged.

_But who the hell am I kidding? I mean, it's not gonna matter what I do—our friendship's gonna get damaged either way. I mean, if I do what I think she wants me to do, and I'm wrong, then, after she beats the snot outta me, she'll probably never speak to me again, except during my trial. And, she'll probably go home to Texas, and I'll end up in prison for the next twenty years. At least. On the other hand, if I don't do anything, which is what I'd rather do, she'll probably go home to Texas, anyway. _Hawke really resented the fact that Caitlin had put him in such a spot. It seemed as if no matter what he did, he was probably going to lose her friendship. But suddenly, another voice sounded in Hawke's head, one that sounded an awful lot like his older brother, Saint John. _Think about this, Stringfellow Hawke. What if you do what you're thinking she wants you to do, and you're __**right? **__And what if, what if it becomes the beginning of a beautiful relationship? _Hawke had to admit, that voice might just have a point.

The song finally over, Hawke watched as Caitlin sheepishly put the wrench down. He noticed that she seemed out of breath. "Cait? You okay?" He wasn't sure if she was out of breath because of the way she'd been bouncing around the hangar and singing, or because of something else. Then, Hawke noticed the flush on her cheeks, and he had his answer.

"Sorry, String," she said, brushing a few strands of hair off her face as she set her "microphone" back on the workbench. "Just, got excited there." _In more ways than one,_ she thought, feeling the region between her legs grow hot and wet. She silently added, _I sure hope this works. And, here goes everything. _

Without another word, Caitlin grabbed Hawke's face in her hands and kissed him._ Hard._ Startled, Hawke didn't know how to react at first, but soon warmed up to the kiss, the way he had on that movie set a few months previous. He wrapped his arms around Caitlin's waist as he felt hers slide down from his face and take up residence around his shoulders. The kiss began taking on a life of its own, becoming even more passionate than the one from the movie set, and when Hawke felt Caitlin's tongue force its way into his mouth, he guessed that his first instinct had been right, and he returned her passion fully with his own.

After what felt to Hawke like far too short a time, he had to separate from Caitlin, but she did not want to let him go. Finally, he forcefully pulled back from her and said, "Cait. We've gotta breathe sometime!"

Caitlin felt her face turn crimson. "Sorry, String," she panted, and she realized that Hawke had actually done her a favor by pulling them apart. _I couldn't have gone much longer, but then again, passing out in Hawke's arms wouldn't be so bad, would it?_

"String," Caitlin murmured, her voice taking on a more sultry tone than he could ever recall hearing from her, "do you know why I requested that song?"

"I think I've got a pretty darned good idea, Cait," Hawke growled, and his tone of voice frightened Caitlin.

"String? What is it? What's wrong?" She tried to get him to relax, so they could move on to the next step and really 'get physical,' as the lyrics suggested. _Don't you get what I'm saying, and what the song was saying, String? Don't you know how badly I want you? You're the only man I would ever let take me, String. If you want me, that is._

"Cait," Hawke said as he tried to get his breathing back under control, even though his temper was far from it. "You know, you know I care about you. I have ever since you came here lookin' for me and told me about Jimmy. But..."

She stopped him again with a passionate kiss, pressing their bodies together, allowing Hawke to feel her soft, warm core through her jeans as she pressed against him. At the same time, she felt his erection throb against her wet heat, and became even more excited. She did all this quickly, not wanting to lose either the mood, or her nerve. _'Cause I may never feel like doing this again,_ Caitlin thought, nearly breathless. When she pulled back this time, Caitlin said, "String, I have wanted you since the day I met you back in Pope County. And that's never gonna change. But, I guess, if you don't feel the same way, there's nothing I can do about it."

Just that quickly, Caitlin decided there was something she could do. "Wait a second! Yes, there is something I can do about it!" she said angrily. "Stringfellow Hawke, I swear to God, if you don't kiss me right this second, I'm gonna turn..." She suddenly felt Hawke pull her body close to him and kiss her again. _Well, that's __more like it__,_ she thought excitedly, especially when Hawke's hands began sliding down her back, coming to rest in a very satisfying place, causing her to moan with pleasure and excitement.

Before Caitlin could turn around and begin walking away, Hawke pulled her close to him and kissed her, with the same passion and energy she had given in her two previous kisses. His hands moved down her back and finally came to rest in a very satisfying place, judging from the pleased moan he heard coming from Caitlin, not to mention her pulling them even closer together, so that his hard bulge pressed directly against her wet heat, and each could feel the other's desires through their clothing.

Still, Caitlin had to know if Hawke's kiss was because he wanted her, or just to shut her up and stop her from leaving. She pulled away again and, as soon as she could speak, she asked the question burning in her mind—a question whose answer would either make her the happiest woman in the world, or crush her dreams entirely. "String? Do you—do you want me? If you do, then take me. I'm yours, String. All yours."

Hawke didn't answer, verbally. Instead, he pulled off his shades, took Caitlin by the hand and led her into the small office, closing and locking the door behind them. Once inside, he pulled all the shades down, so no one could see what was about to happen, then he reached for the buttons on Caitlin's shirt as her hands automatically went to the buttons on his after she toed out of her sneakers. When Hawke hesitated again, she grabbed hold of his shirt and whispered, "Hawke, there's no red lights in sight, here. Please, Hawke, take me. _Now. __**Right now."**_

Afterward, Caitlin dozed in the intoxicating sensation of feeling Hawke around her, inside her, and on top of her. She knew that she was his, forever and always. _And he's finally mine. __**All **__mine. Oh, sure, it's not legal—__**yet—**__but, that's just a technicality._ She knew, after what had just happened, that she would spend the rest of her life with Stringfellow Hawke. Caitlin noticed that, even with his larger size, she was extremely comfortable as they lay together. Finally she felt Hawke begin to move and whispered, "Don't."

"Cait, I've gotta be squashing you," Hawke mumbled.

"Actually," she purred, "I'm extremely comfortable." He leaned backwards just enough to see her million-dollar smile showing.

"But, I'm so much heavier," he said, and she silenced him with another passionate kiss.

When they separated, Caitlin murmured, "Do you hear me complaining?" And Hawke had to admit, he didn't. They lay there entwined with each other for several more minutes until Hawke slowly, deliberately withdrew, allowing Caitlin to enjoy every second of it. Then they quickly dressed and cleaned up the small mess they'd made on the couch. _Thank goodness nobody came lookin' for work,_ Hawke thought. _That would have been terribly embarrassing._

"Caitlin," Hawke began, not sure where he was going exactly, but knowing that he had to say something, "I..."

Caitlin looked into his eyes and said, "String, don't you understand? I not only want you, I love you. I have loved you ever since that day in Texas. Now, I know that you're worried about the curse, but String, you have to admit I can take care of myself pretty well, right?"

Hawke recalled the Anderson affair, and most recently the incident at the rival air service, and said, "Yeah, I guess you can. But, Cait..." He was silenced again by the pleasurable sensation of Caitlin's lips on his.

"Oh, for Pete's sake! 'But' me no 'buts,' Stringfellow Hawke," Caitlin said with a warning tone, "or so help me God, I'm gonna _kick yours!_ And I can do it, too," she said as she grinned impishly at him. "So, do you have anything you wanna say to me?" Her eyes sparkled with hope.

"Just that, I love you, Caitlin O'Shannessy. And, I always will," Hawke replied, smiling. As they walked out of the office together, arm-in-arm, they knew their lives would never be the same again, and they were excited about the possibilities of the future.

**THE END.**


End file.
